Last week, the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts hosted the 2026 Turner Center Beyond the Book— a literary event which took place in the Turner Center Galleries in Valdosta.

I was one of over a dozen authors at the event participating. Being a local, I had a new experience of being at a place where I had never been before. It was exciting for two reasons: first, I have been living in Valdosta for less than a year and was looking for a literary platform in my own place where I could meet with local authors and participate in literary book discussions regarding writing and publishing and also the opportunity for reading from my books and signing them; second, I have been writing in both languages—English and Nepali, so I thought it would have been quite interesting to run into some native writers writing only in English and discuss with them the fun and challenges of writing across languages and cultures.

English is my second language, but when I write in English, my Nepali also seeps through the English language since my experiences and world views are mostly shaped by Nepali cultural upbringing, and other socio-religious and political milieu. When it comes down to sharing my subjective experiences, I cannot help but use Nepali words—with the help of a code-switching option—to convey the kind of emotions and feelings I want to convey. For example, how to say garlyam-gurlum, the Nepali Onomatopoeic word for which there is no exact translation in English if I want to create a mental image of falling something heavy or heavily from the hilltop or so? Amy Tan, a famous writer of Chinese descent writes that using “different Englishes” makes one’s writing expressive and direct, so she wrote “stories using all the Englishes” she grew up speaking with. According to her the power of language comes through the usage of the language that we grow up speaking which is full of imagery and vivid. I want(ed) to have this kind of conversation at a literary event—a discussion of literary writing and craft.

“Last year, we had a little conference and panel discussions, but it didn’t go well, so this year it was only the authors’ event for book signing,” one of the authors next to me explained when I shared my interest in literary discussions with her. She is a self-published poet. Makes sense, I thought. It is/was already a big feat for the organizer to organize such a literary event in a small town like Valdosta with the presence of a handful of book lovers and writers. Although I didn’t have the chance for the literary discussions and talks on writing crafts and writing across languages and cultures, I quite enjoyed the opportunity, the platform I was looking for—to be at the event and introduce myself to the authors there.

The event was not big, but the number of copies of my book I signed, especially my debut novel “Running from the Dreamland” was larger than I thought. I signed and sold as many copies as at any big literary event I had been to before—even the AWP conference last year or the Atalanta Writers Conference. That was quite surprising and motivational. I had nearly belittled the event before I went there. Ah! I thought. “This small town like Valdosta is a mini literary hub.” I saw students to teachers, readers to writers showing their presence and touring the tables where we authors stood at, with our curious eyes ready to talk about our tomes of books sitting like sages on the table.

“This annual celebration of the written word showcases the talents of local and regional authors, offering them a platform to display, discuss, and sell their published works,” said Sementha Mathews, executive director of the Turner Center, approaching me and lifting one of my books from the table and thumping through its pages. “We have literary community and book clubs and writing workshops here. Feel free to join them and discuss.”

“Hey, you are here!” Richard Toumey surprised me with whom I met at the AWP conference in Baltimore last year. He is a poet and lives near Jacksonville from where he drove with his wife to attend the event and got a signed copy from me. Brandy Hampton, a professor at Valdosta State University introduced herself to me and held a copy from the table saying, “please sign it for me.” What else could be more joyous than this for the author like me who has recently moved to Valdosta! Another reader, originally from Peru, approached me saying “I love books.” When I told him, holding my book in one hand while the other in the air, “one of the characters in this novel is from Peru,” he got it right away asking me to sign it. Surprisingly, a Nepali family popped in and received another signed copy from me, also taking a picture with me.

At the event, I ran into some authors whom I met previously at a different literary event or a book fair who had driven almost 3-4 hours to get here whereas I had to drive just for 10 minutes from my house. This thought made me proud of myself for being a Valdosta resident. At the event, I even ran into Kerry Neville, the author of “Momma May be Mad,” the winner of the 2026 Georgia Author of the year in the memoir category—mine “Like Water on Leaves of Taro: A Himalayan memoir” was also nominated for it although it won only Georgia Independent Author Association Award, not the Georgia Author of the year. I knew Professor Kerry at Georgia College where I finished my MFA in writing.

At the event, I found what I was looking for— Fig Leaves Christian Bookstore, The Bookshelf, South Georgia Regional Library, and The Good Book & Red Door Coffee, the places I could go to and read and sign my books; Snake Nation Press I could talk to if they would be interested in my manuscript. Perfect, I thought. Alice Walker grew up in Eatonton, Georgia, a small rural town in Putnam County and wrote “The Color Purple” and won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for Fiction. Who knows? This tiny town Valdosta may turn one or more of the local authors into a famous national award-winning writer(s). I should not belittle this town. (Dated 9/16/2026, Published in the Valdosta Daily Times)